General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Aquaman: King of Atlantis

Aquaman: King of Atlantis is a three-part American animated miniseries based on the DC Comics character Aquaman, created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris, that premiered on HBO Max on October 14, 2021.¹^•² Created by Victor Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser and executive produced by James Wan through his Atomic Monster company, the series follows Arthur Curry's first days as the newly crowned king of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, advised by the scholar Vulko and the water-controlling warrior-princess Mera while his half-brother Ocean Master schemes to overthrow him.²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Format	Three-part animated miniseries, one season of three episodes of about 46 minutes each, rated TV-PG¹^•⁴
Premiere	October 14, 2021, on HBO Max¹
Creators	Victor Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser; executive producers include James Wan, Michael Clear, Rob Hackett, and Sam Register³^•⁵
Voice cast	Cooper Andrews as Aquaman, Gillian Jacobs as Mera, Thomas Lennon as Vulko, Dana Snyder as Ocean Master⁶
Episodes	Chapter One: Dead Sea; Chapter Two: Primordeus; Chapter Three: Tidal Shift⁴
Home video	Released as a feature-length animated film on Digital and DVD on April 26, 2022⁷
Reception	100% Tomatometer from 6 critics' reviews and 70% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.2 on IMDb¹

Spoilers

Premise and episodes

The story begins on Aquaman's first day as king of Atlantis, with the hero, raised on land, needing to learn how the underwater kingdom works. His two royal advisors back him up: Vulko, the scholar, and Mera, the water-controlling warrior-princess. Across the three chapters he deals with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time, and his own half-brother, Ocean Master, who wants to overthrow him and prove Aquaman unfit for the trident.⁴^•⁸

The three episodes are Chapter One: Dead Sea, Chapter Two: Primordeus, and Chapter Three: Tidal Shift.⁴ In the finale, which aired October 28, 2021, Ocean Master and Pytor Mortikov plan to overthrow Aquaman and imperil the city.⁹ Each of the standalone episodes has its own storyline following Aquaman's adventures as protector of the deep.²

Production

HBO Max announced the greenlight for the three-part animated miniseries on January 15, 2020, at the WarnerMedia Television Critics Association day, with James Wan, director of the 2018 live-action Aquaman film, executive producing through his Atomic Monster production company.² The series is based on the storyline of the 2018 film starring Jason Momoa rather than an ongoing comic arc.¹⁰ Showrunners Courtright and Halpern-Graser, who had previously worked together on ThunderCats Roar, pitched and developed the concept before COVID-19 lockdowns, then produced the rest of the show remotely after roughly two weeks of in-person production.¹¹^•¹²

Visual style. The art design is a complete departure from the live-action films, using a bright, cartoony style that drew comparisons to ThunderCats Roar because of the shared showrunner, and that reviewers described as having an Adventure Time meets early SpongeBob energy.¹³ DC's own promotion called the look unusual, with a cast that does not resemble earlier animated versions of the characters.¹⁴

Voice cast. Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead) voices Aquaman, Gillian Jacobs (Community) voices Mera, Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) voices Vulko, and Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) voices Ocean Master, Aquaman's half-brother.⁶ Additional cast includes Andrew Morgado as Mortikov, Kevin Michael Richardson, Kimberly Brooks, and Flula Borg as Mantis.³^•⁷

Home media release

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brought the series to Digital and DVD on April 26, 2022, edited together as a single feature-length animated film.⁷ The combined film runs about 120 minutes on digital storefronts, where it can be rented or bought on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home;¹⁵ the British Board of Film Classification certified the home-video version at approximately 131 minutes with content advice of mild fantasy violence, threat, and language.¹⁶ The Australian classification, dated March 21, 2022, lists a 132-minute duration, a PG rating for mild animated violence, and production companies Atomic Monster, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation.¹⁷

Reception and availability

On Rotten Tomatoes the miniseries holds a 100% Tomatometer based on 6 reviews and a 70% Popcornmeter from fewer than 50 audience ratings; IMDb lists a 6.2.¹ Critics described it as a fun, family-friendly addition to HBO Max's DC lineup; Polly Conway of Common Sense Media gave it 4 out of 5, calling it goofy and noting the voice cast was clearly enjoying itself.⁹ Common Sense Media rates it appropriate for ages 8 and up, noting cartoonish but frequent punching, kicking, and trident whacks, and identifies its positive messages as the idea that being a king takes work and that it is OK to ask for help.⁸

The series ran as a single-season miniseries and its status is listed as canceled/ended.³ Its streaming availability has shifted since release: as of recent checks it is not available for streaming in the United States,⁴ it was last available in Germany on WOW until August 2022,¹⁸ and in Canada it has been carried on the TELETOON+ Amazon Channel.¹⁹

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026